As VW Prepares For Diesel Emissions Recall, CEO Says Cost Cutting And Efficiency Drive Won’t Be Painless

The Volkswagen Group is expected to start recalling its diesel cars fitted with the ‘defeat device’ software designed to fool emissions testers most likely by January, 2016. Around 11 million vehicles are thought to be part of the recall, most of them in Europe, and the brands affected include not only Volkswagen but also Audi, SEAT and Skoda.

“If everything goes as planned, we can start the recall in January,” VW’s new CEO Matthias Müller told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “All the cars should be in order by the end of 2016.”

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VW has presented Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority with its plans and timetable on fixing the affected vehicles. However, it’s not simply a matter of writing up some new software. This is because there were country-specific versions of the cheating software. In addition, some vehicles will require mechanical updates such as new fuel injection equipment and catalytic converters.

VW has set aside more than $7.3 billion to prepare for some of the costs involved in the recall as well as potential penalties and possibly even lawsuits. However, the automaker concedes that it isn’t possible yet to quantify the commercial and financial implications at present. Thus, VW is cutting back on some of its more frivolous spending and is currently conducting a review of its planned investments.